Soil fragipan zones are formed by a naturally occurring chemical process which creates a cement-like layer in the soil. These restrictive soil layers, which are collectively referred to herein as fragipan but which also includes hardpan, durapan, or other natural and/or artificial soil compaction barriers. In relation to national agriculture impact, fragipans are more common to the Eastern to mid US regions, and hardpans are more nationally distributed with the San Joaquin Valley in California, which by itself contains over a half million acres with this cemented subsoil restriction. Fragipans can range from a few inches to a few feet in thickness and are typically located between one to four feet below the ground surface.
In the United States alone, about 50 million acres of land have been determined to be impacted by this agricultural restriction. In Kentucky alone, 2.7 million acres are known to have this fragipan layer in the soil.
It is possible that as much as 190 million acres of USA lands are subject to the limitations associated with fragipan. Since the United States comprises approximately 11% of the world's known arable land resources and it is well established that other countries have similar fragipan related agricultural limitations, it can be estimated that fragipan presence may impact several billion acres of cultivatable land worldwide.
The presence of such fragipan impedes agricultural productivity. Consequently, a system and method for impacting fragipan is desired.